This invention generally relates to a beverage cooling apparatus, and more particularly to a portable cooling apparatus having a cooling material that surrounds a plurality of beverage containers.
While participating in various summertime activities such as golf, baseball, etc., it is often desirable to consume cooled prepackaged beverages such as cans of soda. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a compact beverage cooling apparatus that can be easily transported by the person participating in the summer activity. For example, while golfing it would be most desirable to have a portable cooling apparatus that fits easily into a golf bag, thereby eliminating the need to carry both the golf bag and a separate beverage cooler. Generally, golfers have two options when attempting to transport cooled beverages, such as a six pack of soda cans. The first option is to carry a separate cooler that utilizes a freezable material to cool the beverages while being transported. Unfortunately, this type of cooling device is typically cumbersome and too large to fit into a golf club bag and therefore must be carried separately from the golf bag. The second alternative is to use a sleeve-like insulating device. These commonly utilized cooler devices include both soft fabric devices and rigid elongated devices. The soft devices are made of a relatively flimsy fabric material and do not provide the necessary insulating capacity to keep beverages cool for elongated periods of time--for example, 18 holes of golf. A typical rigid elongated container is made of a double layer of insulating cardboard material and is therefore relatively thick. This device is too bulky to fit into a golf bag and it does not provide the insulative capacity to keep beverages cool for 18 holes of golf or the like. Accordingly, it would be most desirable to have a beverage cooling apparatus that is compact enough to fit in a golf club bag while still being able to provide actual cooling to beverages in various containers.
Unlike the above described devices, the beverage cooling apparatus of the present invention utilizes hollow tubular members that contain a cooling material such as a conventional refrigerant gel. Moreover, this cooling apparatus is designed to readily fit within a conventional golf bag and to be broken down such that it fits within a conventional freezer. In operation, a user may place either warm or cooled beverages within the hollow tubular members for later consumption. The cooling apparatus is then placed directly into a golf bag, or the like, where the beverages can be easily transported for consumption by the user without considerable effort.
Thus, one advantage of the present invention is that the cooling apparatus will actually cool a warm beverage for later consumption.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the cooling apparatus is fairly compact and will either fit within, or readily attach to, a conventional golf bag.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the cooling apparatus can be broken down into individual lengths that are compact enough to fit within a conventional freezer.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that beverages can be maintained at cooler temperatures for extended periods of time since the beverages are surrounded by a material that is initially cooled.
Additional objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.